The Republicans' defeat in the House of Representatives is a disaster for George W. Bush. His political heirs now must distance themselves from him as he spends the next two years trying to define his legacy. The first plane he used for an election campaign in Texas in the 1990s was dubbed "Accountability One" -- he renamed it "Responsibility One" in his first presidential campaign. George W. Bush liked to portray himself as someone who stands up for his mistakes. He was among the first to cast his ballot. His timetable was changed at the last minute so that the morning TV shows would get footage of him. At 6:49 a.m. his motorcade drove past the barricades in front of his ranch in Crawford, Texas. "Do your duty," he called out as he left his local polling station in the Crawford Volunteer Fire Department.... http://www.spiegel.de

A European Parliament delegation is in Poland to examine claims that terror suspects were transported and detained secretly in Europe by the CIA. The group of MEPs will meet one government minister, airport officials and journalists during their three-day fact-finding mission. Similar delegations have visited the US, UK, Romania and Macedonia. Poland was one of two states identified by Human Rights Watch as possibly having secret detention centres. The Polish government has repeatedly denied the allegations. European Union officials believe many governments in Europe are reluctant to investigate these sensitive and potentially embarrassing allegations. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6127132.stm

At least 45 civilians have been killed in eastern Sri Lanka after army shells hit a camp for people displaced by the fighting, Tamil Tiger rebels say. Another 125 were wounded in the shelling in the Vakarai region, rebel spokesman S Puleedevan told the BBC. The army said it had hit Tiger targets and accused them of using civilians as human shields. The Red Cross are reported as having seen 18 corpses. Ceasefire monitors said a team was on its way to the area to check reports. "It was a big attack and the deaths could be as high as 100," Mr Puleedevan said. Military spokesman Brig Samarasinghe would only say that there had been "heavy artillery" exchanges in the Batticaloa area. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6128094.stm

China says it has reached an agreement with the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, to co-operate on the peaceful use of nuclear energy. China's official news agency said the agreement had been confirmed at talks in Beijing on Tuesday between Mr Mubarak and President Hu Jintao. No further details of the deal have been made public. Egypt plans to revive its nuclear energy programme, frozen 20 years ago after the Chernobyl nuclear accident. Russia has also said it is willing to help Egypt to develop a nuclear energy programme. Following his talks in Moscow and Beijing, Mr Mubarak has moved on to Central Asia. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6128438.stm

First it was one child. Now authorities say Beijing families will be allowed only one dog.The restriction is part of efforts to stamp out rabies, state media said Wednesday. It follows a campaign in August in which thousands of dogs were killed in order to fight the disease.China's capital will institute a "one dog" policy for each household in nine areas, the official Xinhua News Agency said."Only one pet dog is allowed per household in the zones, and dangerous and large dogs will be banned. Anyone keeping an unlicensed dog will face prosecution," Xinhua said.It said rabies killed 318 people nationwide in September.Rabies is on the rise in China, with 2,651 reported deaths from the disease in 2004, the last year for which data were available....http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,228114,00.html

A Missouri ballot initiative to promote stem cell research, a topic that blew up into a national controversy over the reach and effectiveness of political ads, was approved by voters last night by a margin of 51-49. The amendment to allow research using embryonic stem cells, which inspired a prominent Michael J. Fox television ad in support, became a lightning rod of national importance when commentator Rush Limbaugh attacked Fox's sincerity. The push to pass the referendum was a key factor in Missouri's crucial Senate race; Democratic challenger Claire McCaskill rode her support of the measure to take the seat of incumbent Republican Jim Talent, who opposed the measure. Another controversial referendum, South Dakota' toughest-in-the-nation law that would have banned virtually all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest, was strongly defeated by voters. ...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/08/politics/main2161244.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._2161244